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Discover Barnsley, South Yorkshire

Barnsley Town Hall, Barnsley, South YorkshireBarnsley Town Hall, Barnsley, South Yorkshire: Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Barnsley_Town_Hall_(1).jpg
Author: Tony
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Barnsley is a town in South Yorkshire, England. It is the main town and administrative center of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley. Barnsley has a population of around 75,000 people (2012 estimate).

Barnsley was historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire until the change in boundaries in 1974. It first appeared in history though listing in the Domesday Book of 1086. The manor of Barnsley was granted to the St John Monastery in Pontefract in the 1150s. It received a market charter in 1249, permitting it to hold a weekly market on Wednesdays and an annual four-day fair at Michaelmas.

Being on the route between Leeds, Wakefield, Sheffield and London helped Barnsley to develop as a trading center. By the 18th century it was also a center for linen weaving and later glass making. The coal minings around town provided fuel for its industries. All these mines are now closed.

After a period of high unemployment brought about by the mine closures, Barnsley on a whole today enjoys relatively low unemployment, due partly to regeneration programs in place. The town has a number of national retail outlets including Marks & Spencer, The Body Shop, Boots, WH Smith and HMV.

Monk Bretton Priory, Lundwood, BarnsleyMonk Bretton Priory, Lundwood, Barnsley: Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_gatehouse,_Monk_Bretton_Priory_2_.jpg
Author: Tony Grist
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Visiting Barnsley

From London, take the M1 motorway. Exit the motorway at Junction 37, then head east on the A628 road to reach Barnsley.

Places of Interest in Barnsley


  1. Barnsley Town Hall: Civic building completed in 1933,

  2. Cannon Hall: Country house museum between Cawthorne and High Hoyland, to the north of Barnsley. It dates to the 13th century and houses the Regimental Museum of the 13th/18th Royal Hussars and the Light Dragoons.

  3. Houndhill: Fortified manor house in Worsbrough, Barnsley, today a Grade II* listed building.

  4. Monk Bretton Priory: Ruins of a monastery under the Cluniac order in Lundwood, Barnsley.

  5. Pot House Hamlet: Former center for glass works in Silkstone, South Yorkshire.

  6. The Mall Barnsley: Originally the Alhambra Shopping Centre, this is the main shopping mall in town.

  7. Wentworth Castle: Stately home and former seat of the Earls of Strafford, located near Barnsley.

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Hello and thanks for reading this page. My name is Timothy and my hobby is in describing places so that I can share the information with the general public. My website has become the go to site for a lot of people including students, teachers, journalists, etc. whenever they seek information on places, particularly those in Malaysia and Singapore. I have been doing this since 5 January 2003, for over twenty years already. You can read about me at Discover Timothy. By now I have compiled information on thousands of places, mostly in Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore, and I continue to add more almost every day. My goal is to describe every street in every town in Malaysia and Singapore.

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